Saturday, February 26, 2011

Worst defensive team in the league?

Well, I've said it before and I will say it again. I am not a Carmelo hater. I'm a defense lover. If Carmelo plays defense, I will change the name of this blog to "Carmelo Plays D!"

But until then, I think I've proven my point. We are two games into the new Knicks, and the team has given up 108 and 109 points in two games. They came into the Carmelo trade tied with Cleveland for being the second worst defensive team in the league, giving up an average of 105.8 points per game, so they have actually gotten worse defensively now.

Carmelo is a fun, exciting scorer but does not even try on defense. There is little defense on this roster that is playing. Brewer and Balkman are known for defense, but have liabilities in other areas. Jared Jeffries would be a great pickup if the team can get him, but keep this in mind...the Knicks are 3.5 games out of missing the playoffs. If things don't improve, they may not make it.

That's the pessimistic version.

But you know what? I have faith that the team will jell over time, and improve, both offensively and defensively. As long as they can pick up a Jeffries and possibly another defensively oriented player, they will make the playoffs and possibly win a first round playoff series. But don't expect anything more without a solid bigman like a Kendrick Perkins in the middle. As Donnie Walsh has stated before, a big man remains the priority.

Now imagine if you will what it was like in the Knicks heyday, in the 90's, when we heard the chant that defined the team...DEFENSE! DEFENSE! DEFENSE!

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A New York Knicks Blog

An alternative take on the NY Knicks. This Knicks blog was originally created before the Carmelo Anthony trade, and we have chosen to retain the "Say No To Carmelo" blog name, because we love being contrarian.